The FDA has found Avodart to be safe (for BHP). The side effects were very simliar if not a tad less then Proscar 5mg, which also was cleared by the FDA many years ago. I think Avodart should be indicated as a off label prescription in some instances.
1-non-responders to Propecia
2-When the loss of efficacy of Propecia becomes bothersome to a indivdual
One other interesting point is that the age group the FDA studied on Propecia (18-42) was quite younger than what Proscar/Avodart (50+ median age 66 approx) so the chances of sexual side effects will inherently be larger in this age demographic as opposed to Propecia… meaning the side effects are probably even closer then one thinks/ Propecia versus Avodart.
The one draw back with Avodart is that there is no “human model†with type 1 suppression so there is a question on “long term†safety as with many drugs. As long as you dont have any side effects with Avodart, the long half life can only be beneficial with Androgentic Alopecia and the phase 2 studies show this. People held onto the hair they gained (even grew more) 12 weeks “after†the the medication was discontinued (0.5 mg/ 2.5 mg only). Proscar users saw a sharp decline in this time frame. I hope these facts are helpful in some way.
